Attack (1956)

Combat films are usually noted for the showcasing of battle sequences, normally situated in outdoor settings. However, Attack (1956) was based on Norman Brooks 1954 play Fragile Fox. Robert Aldrich decided to retain the theatrical dimension of the story by having the narrative focus of the German Advance sequence on the drama taking place inside the command post while the action scenarios instead primarily serve as exterior background context.

Back to Bataan (1945)

Like other combat films of the period, Back to Bataan (1945) relies heavy on sound design to help shape the auditory and visual space of the battle field. In addition, depictions of violence in combat films also were constrained by the strictures of the Production Code. As a result, certain scenes of potential graphic violence in the film are rendered off screen, in shadow, or only the aftermath is presented.

Batman (1989)

The sequence has distinct plotlines that primarly follow the story paths of Batman, the Joker and Vicki Vale. What is noteworthy is that not only do these plotlines converge as a means to signal to the viewer that the sequence is coming to its climax but also the converge is executed on the planes of action.

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

To fully understand the climactic Clansmen Rescue sequence in The Birth of a Nation (1915) it is necessary to first situate it in relation to the film’s overall racist ideological project. As a Civil War film, it overlooks the socioeconomic and political differences between the North and the South. Instead, the film proposes that the seeds of the conflict rested with the racial difference between whites and blacks and when the natural right of the former to rule over the latter was challenged by radical and misguided politicians. The Clansmen Rescue sequence supports this project by exploiting the moral valence of the rescue scenario. The sequence portrays the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force that vanquishes Silas Lynch and his Black militia from control over the town of Piedmont.

Black Panther (2018)

The second-longest action sequence of the film commences in a casino in Busan, South Korea, in which T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) seek to capture Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer, who is due to meet up with Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) a CIA operative.

The Black Pirate (1926)

A feature of seafaring folklore, walking the plank was a mode of execution that extends as far back to popular writings on pirates in the 1700s. It is also a distinct variant of the fight scenario that is unique to the swashbuckler film. The walk the plank scenario appears in The Black Pirate (1926) and exhibits all the conventions associated with its event schemata.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

The final act set piece of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) is at once celebrated for the scale of the recreation of the Battle of Balaclava and notorious for the claimed number of horses injured or killed during its production. The sequence is unique beyond its reputation from an action scenario standpoint. The sequence is structured in terms of acceleration and a possesses a deadline structure that is interspersed with spectacular stunts.